Wash. election features 3 statehouse contests

Voters in three Eastern Washington legislative districts chose state House members in special elections Tuesday to replace departed incumbents.

Each of the seats was vacated before the previous occupant's term expired - two by deaths, and one by a promotion. The winners will serve out the remainder of a term that lasts through 2010.

The leading contest is in the 16th District, which includes the cities of Pasco and Walla Walla. Freshman Rep. Laura Grant, D-Walla Walla, is facing Republican Terry Nealey, a former Columbia County prosecutor.

Grant was appointed to the seat early this year after the death of her father, Bill Grant, who held the job for more than 20 years. Nealey claimed 46 percent of the vote against Bill Grant in the 2008 general election.

Republicans are targeting the race because Grant is the Legislature's only Democrat representing rural Eastern Washington.

Another contest features two Republicans, a wrinkle made possible by the state's "Top Two" primary. They're competing for a House seat in the 9th District, which includes Pullman and Cheney.

The seat opened following the death of Rep. Steve Hailey, R-Mesa. His widow, farmer-rancher and school board member Pat Hailey, is competing against Susan Fagan, public affairs director for a Pullman manufacturer and former aide to three U.S. senators from Idaho.

The final race is essentially a formality. Freshman Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee, faces no real competition for the seat representing the 15th District, which includes Sunnyside and Goldendale.

Taylor was appointed to complete the unexpired term of Dan Newhouse, who was appointed Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire's agriculture director. The nominal challenger is John Gotts, a Democrat who abandoned the race and endorsed Taylor after advancing through the primary.

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On the Net:

Legislature: http://www.leg.wa.gov